Another new disease

There is a new, debilitating disease that needs a solution from the pharmaceutical industry, just like some other solutions that have appeared in recent years.

You've heard about it.

You know that it affects millions of people.

But can the medical profession find a cure for...vibrating leg syndrome?

Research in the area is scant, but theories abound about the phenomenon, which has been termed "ringxiety" or "fauxcellarm."

Anecdotal evidence suggests "people feel the phone is part of them" and "they're not whole" without their phones, since the phones connect them to the world, said B.J. Fogg, director of research and design at Stanford University's Persuasive Technology Lab.

"As human beings, we're so tapped into our community, responsiveness to what's going on, we're so attuned to the threat of isolation and rejection, we'd rather make a mistake than miss a call," he said. "Our brain is going to be scanning and scanning and scanning to see if we have to respond socially to someone."

It's only a matter of time before someone proposes a cure. And this upsets some people.

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